Today, it is possible to control and communicate with a vehicle remotely. It is also possible to collect considerable amounts of information about the driver and the vehicle using established techniques. However, it is difficult to draw relevant and accurate conclusions from these facts automatically, although methods do exist to draw automated conclusions.
In addition, technologies such as UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) for LANs (Local Area Networks) enable device and service discovery and the management of multimedia resources. There are already task forces in various standards bodies, e.g. DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) investigating the use of this technology for media consumption in a vehicle.
Furthermore, there are wide-area communications technologies which serve to establish sessions which can be used to control the communications and services between a terminal, such as a mobile telephone, and a network. The 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) is one example of a system providing such technologies.
Also known is a logical device which combines the two technologies, utilizing INS to enable the control of media sessions directed at UPnP devices. This is known as HIGA, Home IMS Gateway. A HIGA is not necessarily a physical device, but a functional component (a piece of software, SW) that can be deployed also on other residential components as the residential gateway or a set-top-box. Different implementations of HIGA systems are for example described in the international patent applications Nos. WO-2006045706-A1, WO-2007045278-A1 and WO-2007071282-A1.
A portable version of a HIGA, implemented in a mobile phone, is known as the PIGA (Portable IMS Gateway or Phone IMS Gateway) and is for example described in WO 2007069942 A1.
Further, one feature of IMS is the ability to establish means for reporting the status of a device, user, group of users or group of devices. Anything which is capable of having a status can send this status information to the IMS system automatically (for instance, triggered by an event), where it can be distributed to subscribing entities, e.g. users. Presence is standardized in several IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) RFC:s (Request For Comments), OMA (Open Mobile Alliance) documents, and 3GPP Technical Studies.
In the automotive domain various local communication systems, like CAN (Controller Area Network), MOST (Media-Oriented Systems Transport), TTCAN (Time-Triggered CAN) and FlexRay exist that enable the access of vehicle related state and sensor information as well as the control of specific vehicle functions, e.g. regulating brake pressure, fuel injection timing and drawing information on the vehicle dashboard/cockpit display. There are also technologies in place that bridge the car information and control systems with infotainment/consumer electronics systems, like navigation devices and mobile phones.
A problem with existing technologies and solutions is the gap between the vehicle domain, e.g. car sensors/actuators and in-car infotainment systems, and the automotive service providers. In other words, systems resident in the vehicle typically cannot be or are difficult to operate with a given service. An automotive service provider can typically be a centralized functional entity (service) that can be deployed on one or more AS (Application Servers). Examples of automotive service providers are traffic management such as navigation, congestion alerts, local weather reports, infotainment, vehicle maintenance, etc.
However, communications with an automotive/vehicle service requires specialized systems, which is costly although it may have certain advantages, such as QoS (quality of service) guarantee.